An empirical examination of sourcing's role in developing manufacturing flexibilities

Past research on manufacturing flexibility has emphasized technology and its contributions to flexibility. This study examines the role of sourcing practices in achieving manufacturing flexibilities. Manufacturing flexibility is conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct and a taxonomy of existing research is developed. An exploratory empirical examination of the sourcing practices-flexibility linkage using canonical correlation and regression analysis suggests significant relationships between sourcing practice and manufacturing flexibilities. The results support the need for treating manufacturing flexibility as a multi-dimensional construct. The results also suggest that a firm could deploy specific sourcing practices to target specific manufacturing flexibilities in pursuit of agility-based competitive advantages.